Sam

In 1600’s England, politics and religion are inextricably intertwined. Times are dark and violent, and morality is judged by all. Those who defy the church or the government are branded as witches and killed. Many flee into the darkness to await better times, but one woman dares to remain in the light. Her story drives The Daylight Gate, the new novella by award-winning author Jeanette Winterson.

Alice Nutter is a youthful, strong and well-respected woman. She believes her wealth allows her freedom to live as she pleases, making friends and allies without political or moral consequences. Her choices are not beyond the notice of local officials, however, and they quietly start rumors about her competence. These rumors eventually force her to reveal her secrets and unleash her powers on those who would destroy her. Winterson is an intelligent storyteller, and her spare prose moves the story along at lightning speed. Graphic and violent, The Daylight Gate is a quick dip into a nightmare that just might keep you awake at night.

There is much to be afraid of in the dark. Michael wakes to screams and discovers that his little brother is not in the Pokémon sleeping bag next to him. He must be sleepwalking again, but there is more than one dark shape moving around their camp, and the screams do not sound human; at least not living humans. Thus begins the nonstop action in The End Games by debut novelist T. Michael Martin, a zombie apocalypse thrill ride with a strong brotherly bond at its center.

On Halloween the world as we know it came to an end. What replaced it was something that 17-year-old Michael calls "The Game." Survivors play by a series of rules laid down from the “Game Master” in order to reach the safe zone. Michael and his 5-year-old brother, Patrick, have now been playing The Game for weeks, battling strange zombie-like monsters called “Bellows,” in hopes of reaching safety and reuniting with their mother. Unfortunately, The Game is starting to change, and there are other players who don't play by the rules.

Yes, there are zombies. Yes, there is thrilling action. Yes, there are evil villains and multiple plot twists and turns. But the heart of this story is the love between the brothers. Michael’s only thoughts are to protect Patrick morning and night, day after day, until the end. Martin gives enough glimpses into the past, before The Game, for the reader to understand the very special and unique relationship between the boys even then. Their struggle to survive is a heart-wrenching one, so keep a tissue handy. Recommended for fans of zombie fiction, action-adventure or stories of unique sibling bonds.

Rosemary Cooke has just been taken to jail. She is a quiet college student, perhaps the last person you would expect to throw a tantrum in the university cafeteria, destroying property and endangering other students. She has no friends and very few acquaintances. Her parents are emotionally and physically distant. Her older brother left home when he turned 18 and she has not seen him for more than 10 years. The only one who might understand Rosemary is her twin sister Fern, who has enjoyed a good tantrum now and then herself. But Fern has gone away too—sold to a research facility when they were 5 years old. Rosemary’s sister is a chimpanzee. In We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler presents a unique family dynamic and explores the enduring strength of sibling love.

For the first five years of their lives, Rosemary and Fern slept, ate, played and learned side-by-side. They were one of a number of families that adopted a chimpanzee, promising to raise it as an equal member of the family. When Fern inexplicably disappears, it sends her brother into a rage, her parents into denial and Rosemary into a state of lost identity. She was forced to suppress her monkey nature and assimilate into “humans only” society. She never quite got the knack of it though, and the loss of the defining relationship in her life is something she is still trying to overcome. When her brother suddenly returns with information about Fern, Rosemary is forced to face her monkey-girl self once again. Readers who enjoy complex family dramas or animal/human stories such as Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel or Ape House by Sara Gruen will find Fowler’s latest a thought-provoking read.

What is normal? Normal often defies definition, especially for teenagers. Dealing with physical and emotional changes on a daily basis is tiring, so throwing a mental illness into the mix creates a recipe for disaster. Cameron and the Girls by Edward Averett is a fictional first-hand account of a boy dealing with schizophrenia and junior high, and not having much success with either.

Cameron’s medication quiets the voices in his head, but it also makes him feel sluggish and not present in his life. He experiments by taking himself off his meds, questioning the advice of both his doctor and his parents. He feels strong enough to handle the voices on his own, and for a time he feels better, especially when a new voice emerges. "The Girl" is sweet, kind, pretty, and wants to be his girlfriend. So what if she isn’t quite real? If he can just act "normal" enough to avoid suspicion, then they can be happy. Unfortunately, an actual girl has taken notice of Cameron and threatens his self-created utopia.

Averett, a clinical psychologist, has created an eye-opening look into the mind of a mentally ill teen. The "voices" are all written in different fonts, and they are all truly unique from each other and from Cameron. Unusual in teen literature, Cameron’s family are included as loving, supportive, and concerned for his safety and happiness. The junior high setting adds a level of discomfort to the experience, taking the reader back to their own adolescence and how out of place you can feel in your own mind and body. While not completely "normal", Cameron’s struggle for control, of his health, mind, and life, is a brave one, and readers will root for him to find balance and happiness.

Appearances can be deceiving. Author David Levithan has explored identity before in such highly-praised books as Every Day and Will Grayson, Will Grayson. He has teamed up with another celebrated author, Andrea Cremer, for Invisibility, a fantastical tale of those intangible somethings that make people attracted to one another. Sixteen-year-old Stephen is alone in the world. His father abandoned him long ago, and his mother died nearly a year ago. He is also invisible, the victim of a mysterious curse at his birth. He makes his way, day by day, on the very edges of existence. One day he meets Elizabeth and is astonished to discover that she can see him. As she attempts to help him find a "cure", they grow closer, inevitably since she is the first person who has ever been able to truly see Stephen. Will they be able to lift the curse, and will they still love each other when nothing is hidden?

Invisibility is a mash-up of two dissimilar styles that works because of these talented authors. Levithan and Cremer have created an extremely likeable and sympathetic character in Stephen, and readers will root for him in his quest to find his identity and reveal himself to the world. A magical urban fantasy masquerading as realistic fiction, Invisibility will appeal to fans of both genres.

It has been six years since Khaled Hosseini’s last book, but for lovers of literary fiction the wait has been worthwhile. And The Mountains Echoed begins quietly, with a father telling his children a story on the night before a long journey. A monster comes to a village steal a child, and a father must choose which child will go or else the monster will take them all. He does so in agony, discovering years later that the chosen child has had a better life away from the poverty of the village. The story is meant to illustrate the heartbreaking choices we make for the ones we love. Unbeknownst to the children, their journey the next morning is to Kabul, where their father will give his daughter up to a wealthy family so that she might have a better life. As the novel moves forward, each chapter brings a new point of view, often in a different time and place, yet all are interconnected. Stories of family members, servants, and friends ripple outward like water rings from a rock tossed into a pond, each bringing new truths to the tale before it.

As expected, Hosseini’s characters are multi-dimensional and rich, full of love, longing and regret. This book is very personal to him, and he describes it as “a story that speaks to the experience of someone living in exile, as well as that of refugees coming back home.” The novel moves across the globe, beginning in Afghanistan and touching down in places such as San Francisco, Paris and the Greek Islands. The largest of his books in terms of scale and story, And The Mountains Echoed is a long-awaited gem sure to appear on many award lists in the future.

Take the Cinderella story, stuff it into the bottle with the genie, add a healthy helping of absurd humor, and shake well. The result is the twistedly funny Gorgeous by screenwriter/playwright Paul Rudnick. Eighteen-year-old Becky, the literal embodiment of the term "trailer trash", is a pop culture junkie. She devours tabloids and news of all things Hollywood with near reverence. When her mother dies, she receives a mysterious offer that lands her in front of the world’s top designer, who will create three dresses that will change her life. All she has to do is say yes. Soon she is gracing magazine covers and mingling with the rich and famous. But deep inside, who is real -- "trailer trash" Becky, or "Hollywood It-girl" Rebecca?

Rudnick’s visual style plays heavily into Gorgeous, and the descriptions of the lavish and decadent celebrity lifestyle bring it to life in the mind’s eye. He discusses the transformative powers of fashion in an interview with NPR: "I love the idea of endowing clothing, or high fashion, with the power that we almost wish it had. I love taking that final step, of saying, 'OK, you're gonna put on this dress, and it's gonna do everything you could ever hope for and beyond.'" The true magic of Gorgeous is not in the fabric of these gowns, but rather in Rudnick’s ability to cut through this superficial world and find the true inner beauty in us all. Recommended for fans of Meg Cabot, though it does include some content for mature teen readers.

Revenge might be a dish best served cold, but for Celia Door it will certainly feel warm and comforting when it finally arrives. In The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door, Karen Finneyfrock dives headfirst into the high school arena of mean girls and hidden truths. Celia was a normal teenager—average student, slightly unsure of herself but relatively happy—until two events occurred that upset her world. The first was the "trial separation" of her parents and the subsequent relocation of her father to Atlanta. The second was a mean-spirited prank by two popular girls that has socially-damned Celia, causing her to withdraw into herself and go dark, wearing only black and speaking to as few people as possible. As she silently plans her revenge, a new student named Drake, with a few issues and secrets of his own, slowly breaks through the cracks in her darkness.

Celia channels her feelings into her poetry notebook, and her poems add to the mood of the story in addition to playing an important piece of the novel’s plot. Author Finneyfrock is a Seattle-based poet, branching out here with her first novel, and is a promising new voice in realistic fiction for young adults. Poetic yet painful, The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door is highly praised by best-selling authors Sherman Alexie and Ruta Sepetys.

Prolific author Chris Crutcher turns the old adage "appearances can be deceiving" upside down in his latest novel Period 8. For many teenagers, lies come easily. Bruce “Logs” Logsdon, a teacher at Heller High School, does his best to counteract this fact by running Period 8—a lunchtime class open to students each year. The rules of Period 8 are simple: Talk about anything, do not hurt others, and tell the truth. It becomes a sanctuary for many kids as the one place they can share their thoughts and feelings without fear. When one of the Period 8 kids goes missing, the group dynamic is threatened. It turns out that everyone has something to hide, even the seemingly perfect ones, and the truth soon turns ugly.

On his website, Crutcher labels himself "Author and Loudmouth", so it is no surprise that his writing is often controversial. Period 8 is full of rough, blunt language and the idea of sexuality as a biological imperative rather than a choice drives much of the action. His writing is introspective and revelatory in a slow, deliberate way. Ultimately, the crux is that truth lives outside of the black and white, balancing precariously atop places that often cannot be talked about.